(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to an outdoor cooker and smoker apparatus for an outdoor grill that cooks food by providing direct or indirect heat from a heat source of the grill to the food, and when providing indirect heat the apparatus also burns off drippings from the food creating smoke that smokes the food in the grill. In particular, the present invention pertains to an apparatus for an outdoor grill that has a gas or charcoal heat source, where the apparatus provides direct and indirect heat to the food supported on a cooking surface of the grill by operation of a louver assembly. The louver assembly is comprised of a manual actuator and a plurality of louvers positioned beneath the grill cooking surface. Movement of the actuator moves the plurality of louvers between first and second positions. In the first positions the louvers are generally horizontal and provide indirect heating of the food. The horizontal louvers also catch drippings from the food and burn off the drippings creating smoke that smokes the food. In the second positions the louvers are generally vertical and provide direct heating of the food on the grill cooking surface.
(2) Description of the Related Art
The typical outdoor grill or barbecue is basically comprised of a base that encloses a source of heat, a cooking grate or grill cooking surface and a cover that protects the interior components of the outdoor grill when not in use and can optionally be used in cooking. In outdoor grills, the common sources of heat include charcoal bricks or briquettes and gas heat.
A disadvantage encountered in using outdoor grills that employ either charcoal or gas as a heat source is adjusting the heat of the source to achieve the desired cooking heat for particular foods. The cooking heat of charcoal grills can be adjusted by adjusting the amount of charcoal used as fuel and, in some cookers, adjusting the opening of air vents in the base of the cooker. The cooking heat of gas grills can be adjusted by adjusting the flow of gas to the grill.
In both types of grills, the food can be cooked with the cover removed from the base to allow the heat source to sear or quickly cook the food on the cooking grate on one side before turning or flipping the food to allow searing or quickly cooking the food on its opposite side. Alternatively, the food can be cooked with the cover in place on the grill where the heat source of the grill will quickly cook the surface of the food resting on the grill cooking grate and will gradually bake or cook by convection the opposite surface of the food. However, in both situations of cooking with or without the cover of the grill in place, the bottom surface of the food resting on the cooking grate is subjected to the direct heat of the heat source and cooks quickly, and in many situations cooks at a faster rate than desirable.
Some outdoor grills have been developed that include drip pans that can be inserted between the source of heat and the cooking grate when it is desired to cook food by indirect heat. The drip pan can be removed from between the source of heat and the grill cooking grate when it is desirable to cook food with direct heat. However, drip pans are disadvantaged in that when they are used to cook the food by indirect heat they also catch the food drippings. The drippings would otherwise fall through the grill cooking grate and burn on the charcoal briquettes or the bricks of the gas heat source producing smoke in the outdoor grill that smokes the cooking food and adds to its flavor. The prior art drip pans have typically been designed to channel or direct the food drippings off of the drip pan and toward a drain that drains the food drippings away from the grill cooking grate. Examples of these prior art drip pans are disclosed in the U.S. patents of Clark, et al., U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,529,798 and 5,890,422.
In addition, some grills have been designed with an elaborate system of shutters or vanes that are component parts of the interior of the outdoor grill and are moved between opened positions where they allow direct heat to the grill cooking grate and closed positions where they provide indirect heat to the grill cooking grate. Examples of these are also disclosed in the previously referenced U.S. Patents of Clark, et al. and in the U.S. Patent of Biggs, U.S. Pat. No. 4,750,469. However, the elaborate constructions of these heat controlling mechanisms contributes significantly to the overall cost of manufacturing the outdoor grill and to the complexity or difficulty in assembling the component parts of the grill.